Game of Thrones to end in 2018, but hasn’t ruled out a spinoff

We’ve known for a while that the end was coming for Game of Thrones, and during this year’s Television Critics Association press tour, HBO programming president Casey Bloys confirmed that the eighth season of the fantasy epic will be its last.

Bloys noted that the showrunners had gone into the show with a plan for a certain number of seasons, and that he was abiding by their desire to end in 2018. The final two shortened seasons of the show will air in 2017 and 2018, with thirteen episodes between them, although Bloys noted that they haven’t yet figured out how many episodes season eight will contain.

Bloys also noted that the network was open to the idea for another show set in Westeros. “It’s something I’m not opposed to, but of course it has to make sense creatively.” Given the show’s popularity with audiences and critics, it seems like it would be a sure bet to continue the story in some form.

The debut of the show’s seventh season will be delayed due to weather concerns in the show’s typical filming locations, and will contain seven episodes.